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Contributed by Kaivac
Many of us in North America may not be aware of this, but the Netherlands, famous for being beautiful, quaint, quiet, and pristine, is experiencing a fast-food invasion.
Virtually all of the fast-food giants in the US, including Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Five Guys, and Dunkin Donuts, now have branches in the Netherlands, with even more planned. In fact, Taco Bell recently announced plans to open five new restaurants every year for the next ten years.
What’s the reason for this invasion? It’s the same as it is over here and around the world. These fast-food outlets provide quick service and tasty food at a competitive price.
However, what many managers of these fast-food outlets soon discover is that cleaning a busy, quick-service location can be a real challenge. This is according to Jamie Hunder with Spillz B.V., a distributor in the Netherlands that provides cleaning solutions, tools, and equipment for fast-food outlets.
“Many of these locations start out mopping their floors twice per day in both the back of the house as well as the front," says Hunder. "Then workers use wet/dry vacuums to extract the grease, moisture, and soil as quickly as possible.”
He says one of the major problems with this method is that the wet/dry vacuums have been breaking down.
“This is due to all the grease on the floor," Hunder adds. "It collects in the machine, clogs the filters, corrodes the inside walls, and damages [the machine’s] components.”
As most cleaning professionals know, wet/dry vacuums are typically designed to extract excess moisture, usually water, from a floor or similar surface. They are not intended to be used to extract the types of soils, oils, and grease found in quick-service kitchens.
Another problem, according to Hunder, is that this cleaning method, which involves the use of mops, is just not working.
“What the cleaning workers tell us is that the mops quickly become saturated with grease, oil, and other contaminants," he says. "They soon realize they are just spreading the grease and oil, not removing them.”
To address this situation and help improve the cleanliness of fast-food facilities, Hunder encourages his fast-food clients to use Kaivac’s OmniFlex Dispense-and-Vac floor-cleaning system.
“What we do is perform a demonstration to show managers how these systems work," he emphasizes. "Then we inspect the floors. What they see is that the floors are thoroughly and quickly cleaned. Further, they see the entire cleaning process is surprisingly fast.”
For those who are not familiar with Kaivac’s Dispense-and-Vac cleaning system, it sits on a trolley bucket. As the machine is rolled over the floor, fresh cleaning solution is dispensed onto the floor.
For heavily soiled and greasy floors, a brush or microfiber pad can be used for agitation, helping to break down the grease and oil. The final step is to extract the moisture, grease, and soils. This leaves the floor dry almost immediately, a major consideration in a fast-food restaurant.
“Invariably, my fast-food clients quickly see the benefits of Kaivac’s Dispense-and-Vac system,” says Hunder. “[And] they don’t have to keep purchasing wet/dry vacuums, making the Dispense-and-Vac system a significant cost savings as well.”